The Bookwanders by Anna James

-

  Tilly's mother disappeared almost ten years ago. Ten years later, Tilly starts to experience strange things. Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Wonderland have started appearing in her family's bookshop, Pages and Co. to make things even weirder, Tilly finds she has the ability to travel into Anne and Alice's stories. Tilly's new discovery is fun at first, but danger lurks at every turn...

This book was so much better than I thought it would be! I couldn't put it down. I wouldn't describe this book as gripping, but the plot certainly moved fast enough to keep me interested. The Bookwanders was so lighthearted and after recently dealing with all the politics in War Storm and Broken Throne, it was a nice break.

The plot was nothing new: an orphan who discovers a new world and that she has magical powers. I've read dozens of books like that before, but The Bookwanders had its own special twist on things. Everything that happened with Tilly's mom was a little predictable, but the villain had a nice plot twist. Although, I felt it was a little fast and too easy how they vanquished him. 

The Bookwanders relied heavily on the classic novels Anne of Green Gables, A Little Princess, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I can't say I'm familiar with the first two books, but Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an old favorite of mine. Anna James' interpretation of Alice just didn't feel right.

I loved the setting! Pages and Co. was such a cozy setting! Tilly's friend, Oskar, definitely deserved more character development. He had a lot of potential. As for Tilly, she was a little annoying and could be dumb at times. I really can't believe she didn't connect the dots sooner.

To elaborate on that last bit a little more, Tilly's grandparents had multiple instances when they were caught talking with book characters. First, Tilly's grandma was talking to a woman named "Lizzy." It only took me a little bit to figure out that this was Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice. Even more obvious, Tilly's grandfather was talking to a man who had one of those flap hats and was smoking a pipe. I instantly recognized him as Sherlock Holmes. Tilly also had (almost) no suspicion of the villain when he was the shadiest dude ever.

I don't know if this is just me, but the villain of this book reminded me so much of Micheal Yagoobian (otherwise known as Bowler Hat Guy) from Meet the Robinsons.

Page count: 288 pages

Published: September 18, 2018

Genre: fantasy

Series: Pages and Co. book 1

My rating: 3 stars

Buy this book



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My 5 Favorite Quotes From Clap When You Land

-
Image
  Clap When You Land  was an amazing novel. On top of that, Elizabeth Acavado's writing was beautiful.  5 "The whole time she swallowed her words like bitter pills not realizing that they were slow dripping poison." 4 "Papi was a man split in two playing a game against himself But the problem with that is in order to win, you always lose" 3 "A queen offers her hand to be kissed, & can form it into a fist while smiling the whole damn time" 2 You do not let your words stunt unknown possibilities." 1 "Fight until you can't breathe, & if you have to forfeit you forfeit smiling, make them think you let them win." About Clap When You Land Camino lives in the Dominican Republic. Yaraha lives in New York City.  The two girls have never met but they have one thing in common: their father. When their father dies in a tragic plane crash, Camino and Yaraha's world turns upside down. To add to all the crazy in their life, they find ea
Read more

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

-
Image
Page Count: 250 pages (Hardcover) Published: August 18, 2009 My Rating: 4 stars Series: Villians book 1 Genre: Fantasy   While she may seem like a jealous queen after a young girl's beauty, she is so much more. They may have been logic and heartache behind the Queen's attempts on the sweet girl's life. The Queen struggles with her looks and the trauma from her childhood helps her accept the fact that she must become the fairest of them all.    This is definitely my favorite version of Snow White! From the Queen's early days as a child to her last moments, Serena Valentino took this seemingly innocent fairy tale and turned it into something dark and twisted. This is by far the most heartbreaking story of Snow White ever. At the same time, this book has enough plot twists to keep any reader entertained. You'll never believe who the magic mirror really is!      Even though Snow White has never been my favorite, this is definitely a book I would be willi
Read more

Bloom by Kevin Panetta

-
Image
 Ari can't wait to move to Baltimore with his friends. He wants nothing more than to get out of his small seaside town. If only his dad would let him quit his job at the family bakery. While interviewing possible candidates, Ari meets Hector, an easy-going guy who loves baking. As the two work together in the bakery, love starts to bloom. Bloom was an adorable graphic novel. Also, the art in this graphic novel was great! If you looking for two soft boys falling in love, look no farther than Bloom.  Ari absolutely stole my heart away! He was so cute. Ari and Hector were made for each other. They had such a cute, fluffy romance. Both of the main characters were flawed in a way that was... different from other books. Does that make sense? I liked that they never really "fixed" their flaws. They embraced what was wrong with each other. Apart, Hector and Ari were complete messes. Together though, they seemed to complete each other while highlighting their faults. The first hal
Read more